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Using AV cables for audio only

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Q: I have some questions regarding AV cables for iPhones. Can you use these cables for audio only? From what I understand, when an Apple AV cable is plugged into an iPhone you will be prompted to “Display on TV.” If I were to answer “No” to this prompt, will I still get audio from these cables? Can I use cheaper third-party AV cables to accomplish this if all I care about is audio?

- Riel

A: Yes, you can definitely use the audio-only portion of an iPhone or iPod AV cable. The “Display on TV” option actually only appears when you are attempting to play video output, and only controls whether the video itself is redirected to the TV. Audio output from a connected iPhone AV cable will always be directed through the cable regardless of other settings. This works in the same way as it does for iPod speakers systems and other audio accessories—audio output is always sent through the Dock Connector when an audio device is connected.

Further, if all you care about is audio output, then just about any audio cable that connects to the iPhone Dock Connector will work for the sake of audio output, regardless of whether it’s an AV cable or simply an audio-only cable.